With so many diverse artists in Louisville it is hard to stand out and make a living with a paintbrush or a charcoal pencil but there is one artist who attracts attention by using his interpretation of the meaning of random words as inspiration for his artwork.

"Language inspires me a lot," Patrick Jilbert said. "Whether it is in music or things I hear people say, I get a picture of what it is in my head and draw it. It all kind of connects somehow."

Many of us sketch out random drawings when we are in boring classes or meetings but that is how Jilbert began to take an interest in drawing.

"I would draw every now and then and I would just do it during school," Jilbert said.

Jilbert said art was helpful to him as a teenager not only in expressing himself but also by creating a way to get his mind out of the pressures of society.

"I was an angsty teenager and it was kind of an escape from everything," Jilbert said. "I was a little antisocial and drawing helped me forget about everything but I realized I loved it and is what I wanted to do. Now it is a compulsion"

Jilbert said now he takes art much more seriously and it is something he is trying to move forward in.

"This is the only thing I care to do and see myself doing," Jilbert said. "A lot of it is just feeling it out."

With no formal training in painting or drawing it can be hard to find a way to stand out or be considered legitimate, but Jilbert has proven critics wrong and overcome those challenges.

"Galleries are more refined and professional and a lot of people who do art have a formal education in it," Jilbert said. "The art community as a whole is a lot more refined and formal then what I do but I still fit in."

Tags:

I love Louisville and I love writing. I guess it makes sense that I love writing about Louisville and the amazing culture and diversity that resides in the community. Louisville is America's best kept secret.